Integrated electronic bill presentment and payment

ABSTRACT

A service provider activates, for a subscriber, a first biller for electronic presentment of bills and a second biller for electronic bill payments by receiving, from the subscriber, information identifying the first and the second of a plurality of billers, as well as subscriber information associated with the subscriber. The service provider transmits to the first biller a request for verification of validity of the received subscriber information, and receives a verification of validity responsive to the transmitted verification request. Based on the received verification of validity, the service provider activates electronic presentment of bills of the first biller for the subscriber. On the other hand, the service provider activates only electronic bill payment of the second biller for the subscriber, without any verification from the second biller of the validity of the received subscriber information.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application is a continuation of (1) pending U.S.application Ser. No. 09/795,314 (Docket No. 3350-005A) entitled“Electronic Bill Processing with Enhanced Bill Availability Notificationand/or Enhanced Bill Presentation”, filed Mar. 1, 2001, which is adivision of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/034,561 (Docket No. 3350-005)entitled “Electronic Bill Processing”, filed Mar. 3, 1998 (now U.S. Pat.No. 6,289,322, issued Sep. 11, 2001), and (2) pending U.S. applicationSer. No. 09/250,711 (Docket No. 3350-031B) entitled “System And MethodFor Electronically Providing Customer Services Including Payment OfBills, Financial Analysis And Loans”, filed Feb. 16, 1999, which is acontinuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 08/372,620 (Docket No.3350-031) entitled “System And Method For Electronically ProvidingCustomer Services Including Payment Of Bills, Financial Analysis AndLoans”, filed Jan. 13, 1995 (now U.S. Pat. No. 5,873,072, issued Feb.16, 1999), which is in turn a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.07/736,071 entitled “Electronic Bill Payment”, filed Jul. 25, 1991 (nowU.S. Pat. No. 5,383,113, issued Jan. 17, 1995). Pending U.S. applicationSer. No. 09/795,314 (Docket No. 3350-005A) and Ser. No. 09/250,711(Docket No. 3350-031 B) are incorporated herein by reference in theirentirety.

[0002] This application is also related to U.S. application Ser. No.______, entitled “INTEGRATED ELECTRONIC BILL PRESENTMENT AND UNIVERSALPAYMENT ”, filed Jun. 30, 2003, (Docket No. 3350-0106); U.S. applicationSer. No. ______, entitled “FLEXIBLE INTEGRATED ELECTRONIC BILLPRESENTMENT AND PAYMENT”, filed Jun. 30, 2003, (Docket No. 3350-0106A);U.S. application Ser. No. ______, entitled “INTEGRATED ELECTRONIC BILLPRESENTMENT AND RISK BASED PAYMENT”, filed Jun. 30, 2003, (Docket No.3350-0106B); U.S. application Ser. No. ______, entitled “INTEGRATEDELECTRONIC BILL PRESENTMENT AND PAYMENT WITH IMPOROVED ACTIVATION”,filed Jun. 30, 2003, (Docket No. 3350-0106D); and U.S. application Ser.No. ______, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR BILL DELIVERY AND PAYMENTOVER A COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK”, filed Jun. 30, 2003, (Docket No.3350-0106E).

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] The present invention relates generally to electronic commerceand more particularly to integrated electronic presentation and paymentof bills from different billers.

BACKGROUND ART

[0004] Historically the billing process has been a three party process.More particularly, the typical billing process consists of billers, suchas merchants, utility companies, service providers and bankcardcompanies, preparing hardcopy paper bills either directly or through anindependent bill preparation service provider. The bills normallyconsist of detailed billing information relating to the goods orservices purchased or ordered, including a detailed itemization of thebilled charges. The billing information also includes the total charge,due date for payment and, in many cases, the minimum amount which mustbe paid by the due date.

[0005] The hardcopy billing information relating to each individualbiller is then placed in a separate envelope and mailed through thepostal service to the applicable payor. The envelope may also be stuffedwith other materials such as other product offerings, e.g., specialdiscounts or new goods or services. Hence, each payor has historicallyreceived billing information from each biller as an individual hardcopypiece of correspondence received by mail.

[0006] Most, although not all, billers bill on a periodic basis, such aseach calendar month or every thirty days. However, although billers mayissue bills covering similar periods of time, e.g., thirty day periods,individual billers may have billing cycles and bill issue dates whichvary. For example, some monthly billers may have a billing period whichextends from the fifteenth of one month to the fifteenth of the nextmonth, while other billers may have a monthly billing period whichextends from the last day of one month to the last day of the followingmonth. Further, even if different billers bill charges incurred overidentical periods, the issue dates of the bills can vary widely.Accordingly, payors typically receive bills at various times throughout,for example, any given calendar month.

[0007] Payors continue to receive large numbers of hardcopy paper billsfrom individual billers. Hence, bill presentment has remained a tediousand expensive task both in terms of the preparation and the distributionof billing information.

[0008] To complete the billing process individual payors havehistorically made payments directly to each individual biller byhardcopy paper check drawn against a financial institution and mailedvia the postal service to the biller's remittance center. A returnableportion of the billing information received from the biller is typicallyreturned with the check. The biller must then present the check forpayment through the payor's financial institution before the paymentfunds can be actually received by the biller and applied against thepayors account.

[0009] For example, it has been common for many years for consumers topay monthly bills by way of a personal check written by the consumer andsent by mail to the entity from which the bill or invoice was received.Consumers have used other ways to pay bills, including personallyvisiting the billing entity to make a cash payment. In today's economy,it is not unusual for a consumer to have several regular monthlyinvoices to pay. Writing individual checks to pay each invoice can betime-consuming and costly due to postage and other related expenses.

[0010] Accordingly, a need exists for a method whereby a consumer cancontact a single source and inform the source to pay various bills ofthe consumer, to have the source adjust the consumer's account with theconsumer's financial institution (ie., bank, credit union, savings andloan association, etc.) to reflect a bill payment, and to actually paythe billing entity a specified amount by a particular time. The systemshould be efficient and not unreasonably expensive and relatively simplefor a consumer to interact with.

[0011] Some banks have attempted to provide a service for making paymentto a few billing entities to which the banks have established relations.The banks that do provide that type of service are limited in that theyprovide the service only for their own customers since the banks havenot developed a system for accurately acquiring and processing accountnumbers and balances of customers of all other banking institutions andcoordinating that information with bill payment. Furthermore, banks havenot developed a system for managing the risks involved in providing sucha service and the inherent complexities of providing the service toconsumers other than the bank's own customers.

[0012] Therefore, a need exists for a single source system that would beavailable to any consumer, regardless of where the consumer banks andregardless of what bills are to be paid.

[0013] Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to providea technique for electronically presenting billing information in amanner which facilitates the timely payment of bills by payors.

SUMMARY DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

[0014] The present invention is designed to fulfill the above listedneeds. The invention provides a universal system that works regardlessof the consumer's financial institution and bill to be paid. The presentinvention provides a computerized system by which a consumer may paybills utilizing the telephone, a computer terminal, or other electronic,data transmission means. Transactions are recorded against theconsumer's account wherever she or she banks. The consumer may be anindividual or a business, large or small. The present invention worksregardless of where the consumer banks.

[0015] In accordance with the present invention an integrated billpresentment and payment with improved biller set-up is provided. Aunique aspect of the invention resides in its capacity to flexibly andefficiently activate a bill for electronic bill presentment or for onlyelectronic bill payment, for a subscriber. Furthermore, the system alsofacilitates the activation of a biller for both electronic billpresentment and payment, for a subscriber. Additionally, a subscriberrequesting activation for electronic payment of a particular biller, canalso activate, in a manner which is transparent to the subscriber, thebiller for electronic presentment of those of its bills which areavailable for electronic presentment. Hence the invention, as will bedescribed further below, provides a single integrated platform foractivating different billers for electronic payment and/or presentmentservices for a subscriber.

[0016] The system includes a processor. The processor may include asingle or multiple processing device(s), such as processing devicesincluded in one or more mainframe computers. The processor isconfigured, e.g. programmed, to receive first biller information, suchas a name, address, and/or other information identifying a first of aplurality of billers and second biller information, such as a name,address, and/or other information identifying a second of the pluralityof billers, as well as subscriber information, such as such as a name,address, and/or other information identifying the subscriber and whichthe first and second billers associate with the subscriber. Preferably,the subscriber information includes a first account number that thefirst biller associates with the subscriber, and a second account numberthat the second biller associates with the subscriber. This informationis typically received from the subscriber as part of the enrollmentprocess, although it could be received at other times. It should beunderstood that billers may be merchants or other types of billers,including non-merchant billers.

[0017] The system also includes a memory configured to store thereceived first and second biller information and the received subscriberinformation. The memory can be any type of storage device and could, forexample, take the form of a hard, floppy or compact disk, optical disk,random access memory (RAM), or some other form. The memory will commonlybe configured to include a relational database, with the first andsecond biller information and the first subscriber information beingstored in relationship to some identifier, e.g. a name, address or otheridentifying data, of the subscriber.

[0018] The processor is further configured to direct, to the firstbiller identified in the received first biller information, a requestfor verification of validity of the received subscriber information. Ifthe subscriber information is valid, the processor receives, from thefirst biller, the verification of validity responsive to the transmittedverification request. If the subscriber information includes the accountnumber that the first biller associates with the subscriber,verification of the account number may be requested from the firstbiller

[0019] The processor activates the electronic presentment of bills ofthe first biller for the subscriber, based on the received verificationof the validity of the subscriber information by the first biller,thereby enabling the subscriber to receive bills of the first billerelectronically. It will be understood that the electronically presentedbills may be detailed bills and/or summary bills, which normally includeonly a summary of the detailed bill information.

[0020] On the other hand, the processor only activates electronicpayment of the second biller for the subscriber, without verification ofthe validity of the received subscriber information by the secondbiller. In this regard, the processor is preferably further configuredto receive payment information that a financial institution associateswith a payment account of the subscriber. The financial institutioncould be a bank, brokerage firm or other type entity that maintainsdeposit, credit, debit or other types of accounts, which can be used tomake payments, for its customers.

[0021] The received payment information is preferably also stored in thememory and may, in some implementations, be advantageously received bythe processor concurrently with the applicable subscriber information,although this is not mandatory. The processor typically also activateselectronic payment of bills of the first biller for the subscriber,based on received payment information. It will be recognized that thepayment information will normally also be verified.

[0022] According to another aspect of the invention, the memory isfurther configured to store a list, sometimes referred to as a “picklist”, identifying multiple of the plurality of billers, e.g. a listidentifying those of the plurality of billers whose bills are availablefor electronic presentation, or a list identifying those of theplurality of billers with whom the service provider already has arelationship with for making electronically remitting, or both. Thefirst biller might be a first of the multiple billers, while the secondbiller may not be one of the multiple billers identified in the list.

[0023] The processor may beneficially be further configured to transmitthe list(s) to the subscriber. A subscriber may select billers from thetransmitted list(s). Accordingly, the received first and/or secondbiller information may be indicative of a selection by the subscriber ofthe first biller and/or second biller from the identified billers in atransmitted list(s). On the other hand, the received first and/or secondbiller information could be indicative of typed information entered bythe subscriber. In accordance with other aspects of the invention, theprocessor is further configured to receive, from the subscriber, arequest to be activated for electronic presentment and/or payment ofbills, and to direct the stored list(s) to the subscriber, in responseto this activation request.

[0024] The multiple billers identified in a stored list could, ifdesired, include first billers that have bills available for electronicpresentment and second billers that do not have bills available forelectronic payment. In such a case the first biller might be one of thefirst billers and the second biller might be one of the second billers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0025]FIG. 1 depicts a bill processing network in accordance with thepresent invention.

[0026]FIG. 2 depicts a functional block diagram of the bill processingnetwork of FIG. 1.

[0027]FIG. 2A depicts a simplified block diagram of the CF station ofFIG. 1.

[0028]FIG. 2B depicts a simplified block diagram of an exemplary payorstation of FIG. 1.

[0029]FIG. 3 depicts various types of payor stations which can beutilized in the bill processing network of FIG. 1.

[0030]FIG. 4 depicts a payor enrollment screen in accordance with thepresent invention.

[0031]FIG. 5 depicts another payor enrollment screen in accordance withthe present invention.

[0032]FIG. 6 depicts a still further payor enrollment screen inaccordance with the present invention.

[0033]FIG. 7 depicts a simplified flow diagram of the operation of thebill processing network depicted in FIG. 1.

[0034]FIG. 8 depicts a payor welcome screen in accordance with thepresent invention.

[0035]FIG. 9A depicts bill presentment information which includes a newbill summary screen in accordance with the present invention.

[0036]FIG. 9B depicts bill presentment information which includes anunpaid bill summary screen in accordance with the present invention.

[0037]FIG. 9C depicts bill presentment information which includesanother type of bill summary in accordance with the present invention.

[0038]FIG. 10A depicts a pre-bill payment authorization screen inaccordance with the present invention.

[0039]FIG. 10B depicts another pre-bill payment authorization screen inaccordance with the present invention.

[0040]FIG. 11 depicts bill presentment information which includes adetailed bill screen in accordance with the present invention.

[0041]FIG. 12A depicts a bill payment authorization screen in accordancewith the present invention.

[0042]FIG. 12B depicts a different bill payment authorization screen inaccordance with the present invention.

[0043]FIG. 12C details certain aspects of the bill payment authorizationscreen of FIG. 12B.

[0044]FIG. 13 depicts bill presentment information which includes alisting of information related to bills which have been authorized forpayment in accordance with the present invention.

[0045]FIG. 14 depicts a biller category screen in accordance with thepresent invention.

[0046]FIG. 15 depicts a screen having bill presentment and paymentauthorization information in accordance with the present invention.

[0047]FIG. 16 is a diagrammatical representation of the creation of aconsumer database in accordance with the present invention.

[0048]FIG. 17 is a diagrammatical representation of the establishment ofa merchant's (billing entities) database and the making of payments inaccordance with the present invention.

[0049]FIG. 18 is a diagrammatical representation of the creation of aconsumer pay table in accordance with the present invention.

[0050]FIG. 19A is a diagrammatical representation of a paymentprocessing cycle in accordance with the present invention.

[0051]FIG. 19B is a continuation of the diagram of FIG. 19A.

[0052]FIG. 19C is a continuation of the diagram of FIG. 19B.

[0053]FIG. 20 is a diagrammatical representation of a computer hardwaresystem that may be used for creating a consumer database and a consumerpay table, establishing a merchant's database, and accomplishing thepayment processing cycle shown in FIGS. 16-19C.

[0054]FIG. 21 is a diagrammatical representation of another computerhardware system that may be used for creating a consumer database and aconsumer pay table, establishing a merchant's database, andaccomplishing the payment processing cycle shown in FIGS. 16-19C.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0055] Overview of Selective Features

[0056] In accordance with the invention, an electronic bill presentmentsystem includes a memory, such as an electrical or optical storagedevice, a processor, such as a high speed microprocessor, and acommunications network interface. The system may take the form of one ormore servers interconnected to a private or public bill presentationnetwork, e.g. the Internet.

[0057] The memory stores billing information, associated with variousbillers, representing bills for various payors. Preferably the billinginformation is received from the billers or their representatives, e.g.bill consolidators, via the network interface and is stored on thememory by the processor in association with an identifier of theappropriate payor.

[0058] In a typical operational sequence, the processor accesses thememory to read the stored billing information. Using this information,the processor generates bill presentment information which correspondsto a portion of the billing information which represents bills for afirst payor. The processor also generates bill presentment informationwhich corresponds to other portions of the billing information whichrepresents bills for other payors. The bill presentment information mayrelate to paid bills, unpaid bills or bills having another desiredstatus, or any combination thereof. The bill presentment information,may be a detailed bill which includes all the applicable billinginformation, could be a summary of the applicable billing information,or could be a simple retransmission of all or some of the applicablebilling information. Some or all of the bill presentment information mayalso be stored in the memory.

[0059] Preferably, the bill presentment information includes a summarylisting of all bills of a desired status, such as all paid or unpaidbills. Beneficially, the bill presentment information includes a listingof respective billed amounts owed by the payor to a number of thedifferent billers, which can be presented as one or more pages on adisplay, such as the monitor of a payor's home or office computer. Thebill presentation information could also include a formatted version ofall the applicable billing information, such as a full detailedpresentation of a bill, which can be presented on a display so as toappear substantially similar to the conventional hardcopy bills whichare regularly received by mail today.

[0060] The processor generates signals directing transmission of theapplicable bill presentment information responsive to requests forcurrent billing information, received by the network interface, fromrespective payors. The network interface transmits the applicable billpresentment information to the appropriate payor responsive to theapplicable signal.

[0061] Preferably, the processor generates a notice of availability ofcurrent billing information to each of the payors for whom billinginformation has been received by the system and stored in the memory. Inthis regard, the processor generates a signal directing the transmissionof each notice, responsive to which the network interface transmits arespective notice to the appropriate payor. Each notice may be an e-mailmessage addressed to the network e-mail address, e.g. an Internet e-mailaddress, of the appropriate payor.

[0062] According to other aspects of the invention, the processor mayalso generate a further notice of availability of current billinginformation and a signal directing the transmission of this furthernotice to a payor after some period of time has passed subsequent to theapplicable billing information having been first noticed to or requestedby the payor. For example a further notice may be generated if norequest for bill presentment information is received for some period oftime after a first notice of availability has been transmitted. Anadditional notice may also or alternatively be generated if no notice ofpayment of some or all of the bills represented the applicable portionof the billing information has been received by the system for someperiod of time after bill presentment information has been requested bya payor, transmitted to a payor or viewed by a payor. The networkinterface transmits this further notice to the applicable payorresponsive to the signal.

[0063] According to further aspects of the invention, the processor maycontinuously update the bill presentation information based upon the newbill related information, such as additionally received billinginformation representing new bills to be paid or the payment of billswhich were represented by billing information previously received by theapplicable payor. In this regard, the processor, if desired, cangenerate new bill presentment information corresponding to some or allof the portion of the old billing information which represents bills fora particular payor, e.g. that which represents only those bills whichhave been paid or remain unpaid, and the portion of the new billinginformation which represents bills for the same payor, e.g. newly paidbills or new outstanding bills. If, for example all the billsrepresented by the applicable portion of the old billing informationhave been paid, the new bill presentment information would only includethe applicable portion of the new billing information. This new billinginformation may be associated with the same and/or different billers asthe previously received billing information, but would more typicallyrelate to different billers. The processor also generates a signaldirecting the transmission, via the network interface, of the new billpresentment information to the applicable payor responsive to thepayor's request for the then current billing information.

[0064] In accordance with a further embodiment of the invention, anelectronic bill presentment network is provided. The electronic billpresentment network includes a private or public communications network,such as the Internet, interconnecting multiple biller stations, multipleclient stations and a network server.

[0065] The biller stations each transmit the billing informationassociated with a respective one of the different billers to the servervia the network. The network server receives and stores the transmittedbilling information. The received information is stored such that theportion of the billing information representing bills for a particularpayor is associated with that payor. Using a client station a payor cantransmit, via the network, a request for current billing information.The network server receives each payor request and transmits billpresentment information, which corresponds to an appropriate portion ofthe billing information, to the applicable payor client station via thenetwork responsive to the request.

[0066] As discussed above, if desired, the network server can transmit anotice of availability of current billing information to payors via thenetwork. The client stations may transmit, subsequent to thetransmission of a first request for current billing information, one ormore additional request for then current billing information via thenetwork. Hence, applicable current bill presentation information will beprovided on-demand to the payor.

[0067] Beneficially, the network server receives notification of thepayment of bills represented by the respective portion of the billinginformation applicable to each payor. In such a case, the network serveronly transmits or retransmits that part of the applicable billpresentment information which corresponds to the portion of the billinginformation representing the remaining unpaid bills via the networkresponsive to a payor request for information regarding outstandingbills which is received by the network server after receipt of thenotice of payment.

[0068] Payment processing includes, for example: gathering payorinformation and creating a master file with banking or other financialinstitution information and routing codes; inputting paymentinstructions by the payor at a convenient location (e.g., at home),typically remote from the payment service provider, by using an inputterminal; applying the payment instructions to the payor's file; usingcomputer software to examine various files to determine such things aswhat is the appropriate form of payment based on variables involvingbanking or other financial institutions and merchants or other payees;comparing each transaction against a dynamic credit file and routingbased on set parameters; and, if the system determines that everythingis ready for payment to be made, adjusting the payor's account (usuallyby debiting) and making payment directly to the billing entity or otherpayee. The single source service provider for payee payment could be anyentity with the capability to practice the invention as describedhereinafter. The foregoing and other objects and advantages will becomemore apparent when viewed in light of the accompanying drawings andfollowing detailed description.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Network Infrastructure

[0069]FIG. 1 depicts a communications network 100, which can be aprivate or public network such as a wide area network (WAN), theInternet or some other type of communication network for linking billerstations 110 a-110 d, payor stations 120 a-120 d, financial institution(FI) stations 130 a-130 c and a centralized CF station 140. The billerstations 110 a-110 d may represent individual merchants, utilitycompanies, service providers, bank credit card companies, or otherindividuals or entities to whom a payment is owed. Payor stations 120a-120 d may represent individuals or entities which have purchased orordered goods or services or otherwise have an outstanding debt to thebillers represented by stations 110 a-110 d. The payors represented bystations 120 a-120 d maintain accounts with one or more of the financialinstitutions, which may, for example, be banks, credit unions or othertype of financial institution or any combination. Each of the billersrepresented by stations 110 a-110 d may also maintain one or moredeposit accounts in the financial institutions represented by stations130 a-130 c. The CF station 140 serves as a centralized bill processingsystem as will be described in detail below.

[0070]FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the bill processingnetwork depicted in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the CF station 140 isinterconnected, via the network 100, with each of the biller stations110 a-110 d and each of the payor stations 120 a-120 d. Accordingly,each of the billers represented by stations 110 a-110 d can transmit,via the network 100, billing information to each of the payorsrepresented by stations 120 a-120 d as appropriate through the CFstation 140.

Electronic Bill Presentment

[0071] As shown in FIG. 2A, the CF station 140 includes a networkinterface (NI) 405 for receiving and transmitting communications via thenetwork 100. The station 140 also includes a processor 410 and a memory420. The station 140 could, for example, be a high powered work station,minicomputer, mainframe computer or other type of network computingdevice which serves as a network server, or any combination of suchdevices. The memory 420 stores, in area 420 a, which will sometimes bereferred to as a merchant master file database and is described furtherbelow with reference to FIG. 17, biller data such as the biller's name,remittance center address, deposit account number with one of thefinancial institutions represented by stations 130 a-130 c, accountnumbers for respective payors represented by stations 120 a-120 d,network address, e.g. an e-mail address, and other biller relatedinformation of each of the billers represented by stations 110 a-110 d.Payor data is stored in memory area 420 b, which is sometimes referredto as the consumer database and described further below with referenceto FIG. 16, and will typically include such information as the payor'sname and address, account numbers with respective billers represented bystations 110 a-110 d, checking account number with one of the financialinstitutions 130 a-130 c, network address, e.g. an e-mail address, andother payor related information.

[0072] The billing information received by the CF station 140 from therespective billers represented by stations 110 a-110 d via the network100 is normalized by the server processor 410 in accordance with thebill presentment software stored in memory area 420 c. Differentportions of the normalized bill information are stored in memory area420 d in association with a respective identifier of the appropriatepayor represented by station 120 a-120 d to whom that portion of thebilling information relates.

[0073] The bill presentment software also generates a summary of thereceived billing information from each of the billers represented bystations 110 a-110 d for each of the payors represented by stations 120a-120 d and stores the summary information with an identifier of theapplicable payor in the memory area 420 e. Bill templates are stored inmemory area 420 f. The bill templates can be merged with the normalizedbilling information to electronically present the billing information tothe appropriate payor represented by station 120 a-120 d insubstantially the same form, including detailed billing information,biller logo, color and terms and conditions, as has historically beenprovided to the payor in hardcopy. Network software is stored in area420 g of the memory 420.

[0074] Once the billing information has been processed by the processor410 so as to be available for access by the appropriate payors, theprocessor 410 in accordance with the bill presentment softwareinstructions stored in memory area 420 c, generates an e-mail or othermessage to notify the applicable payors represented by station 120 a-120d of the availability of bill presentment information. The processor 410also generates a signal directing the transmission of the message, viathe network interface 405, to the applicable payors using a networkaddress, e.g. an e-mail address, stored as part of the payor data inarea 420 a of the memory 420.

[0075] As shown in FIG. 3, the payor 120 a-120 d may be represented by apersonal computer (PC) 310 interconnected to the network 100 by a modem,a television (TV) 320 interconnected to the network 100 via a set topbox, a touch tone telephone 330, a mobile phone 340, a notebook computer350 interconnected to the network 100 by a modem, or some other networkdevice. It will recognized by those skilled in the art that the networkdevice could be of virtually any type capable of receiving a voice,graphic, or textual message. If different types of payor station devicesare utilized, the payor data will include an identification of theparticular type of network device being utilized by the payor. If audiodevices such as telephone 330 or mobile phone 340 are utilized, theprocessor 410 is configured to include a voice synthesizer to generatevoice messages and a voice signal converter to transform received audiomessages into digital signals of processing at station 140 in accordancewith the bill presentment software instruction stored in memory area 420c.

[0076] Referring now to FIG. 2B, an exemplary payor station 120 capableof receiving e-mail messages will now be described. Station 120 includesa payor processor 450 which is interconnected to a memory device 470.The memory stores the payor client software in area 470 a and thenetwork software in area 470 b of the memory 470. It will however berecognized that, if desired, the memory 470 could be eliminated in andthat storage of the payor client software could be implemented on thememory 420 of the CF station 140. A network interface (NI) 455interconnects the payor station 120 to the network 100. Messagestransmitted by the CF station 140 to the payor station 120 are receivedvia the network interface 455 and processed by the processor 450 inaccordance with the network software stored in area 470 b of memory 470.

[0077] In a customary e-mail notification processing sequence, theprocessor 450, in accordance with the network software instructionsstored in memory area 470 b, directs the presentation of an indicator onthe display 460 of the payor station 120 to notify the applicable payorthat an e-mail message has been received. Using the input device 465,which may be a keyboard, mouse or other input device, the applicablepayor can access the e-mail message and request the available billingrelated information from the CF station 140.

[0078] The notification mechanism may alternatively be implementeddirectly in the bill presentment client rather than via e-mail. Those ofordinary skill in the art will recognize that there may be many possibleimplementations of a notification mechanism.

[0079] The payor may request the available billing related informationby, for example, inputting one or more commands on the input device 465.Responsive to these commands, the processor 450 generates and directsthe transmission of the request, via the network interface 455, to theCF station 140. The generated request could, for example, take the formof a reply e-mail message, an instruction to access a web page at the CFstation 140 if the network is the Internet or some other instruction aswill be well understood by those skilled in the art. If desired, thee-mail message could include an icon or other indicator which can beactivated using the input device 465 to automatically link the payorstation 120 to the CF station 140 to access bill related information.

[0080] Referring again to FIGS. 2 and 2A, the processor 410 of the CFstation 140, in response to the request received from the payor station120 a-120 d, directs the transmission of the requested bill presentmentinformation, via the network interface 405, to the applicable payorstation 120 a-120 d. The transmitted bill presentment information mayneed to be generated by the processor 410 responsive to the payorrequest or may be already stored in the memory 420. For example, theprocessor 410 may either retrieve the applicable template(s) andnormalized billing information from memory areas 420 f and 420 d andmerge this information to generate requested detailed bill presentmentinformation. On the other hand, the processor may simply retrieveinformation stored in area 420 e of memory 420 if only bill summaryinformation is requested. It should be noted that by storing unmergedtemplates and normalized data and merging this information onlyresponsive to request for detailed information, the required memory tostore detailed bill presentment information can be significantlyreduced. It should be understood that, in many cases, the payor willrequire only summary bill presentment information, and thus on-lineprocessing to merge the templates and normalized billing informationwill not, in many cases, be required. However, preferably, detailed billpresentment information dynamically generated by merging template andnormalized data may be cached to support re-retrieval requestsresponsively.

[0081] Referring again to FIG. 2B, the payor station 120 a-120 dreceives, via network interface 455 of payor station 120, the billpresentment information transmitted by the CF station 140 over thenetwork 100. The payor processor 450 processes the received informationin accordance with the payor client software stored in memory area 470 aand directs the presentation of the received bill presentmentinformation on the display 460 of the payor station 120.

General Payment Processing

[0082] Although payment processing will be described in further detailwith reference to FIGS. 16-21, the following provides an overview ofcertain aspects of the processing relating to the payment of presentedbills.

[0083] As discussed above referring to FIG. 2, the CF station 140 islinked via the network 100 to various financial institution stations 130a-130 c which represent financial institutions with whom checkingaccounts are maintained by one or more of the payors represented bystations 120 a-120 d and/or deposit accounts are maintained by one ofmore of the billers represented by stations 110 a-110 d. A payor, havingreceived bill presentment information, can now request that payment ofone or more bills be made to the appropriate biller(s) represented bystation(s) 110 a-110 d.

[0084] In this regard referring again to FIG. 2B, the payor processor450 generates, in accordance with the client software residing in memoryarea 470 a, a payment instruction and an instruction directing thetransmission of the instruction, via the network interface 455, over thenetwork 100 to the CF station 140. Referring again to FIG. 2A, thepayment instruction is received and processed by the processor 410 of CFstation 140. The processor 410, responsive to the received paymentinstruction and in accordance with the bill payment software stored inmemory area 420 c, directs the payment of the applicable bills either byelectronic funds transfer or by hardcopy check.

[0085] If the payment will be made by electronic funds transfer, the CFprocessor 410 generates an electronic funds transfer instruction toelectronically transfer the appropriate amount from the applicablepayor's checking account maintained at one of the financial institutionsrepresented by stations 130 a-130 c to the appropriate biller's depositaccount maintained at one of the financial institutions represented bystations 130 a-130 c. The processor 410 also generates an instruction totransmit the electronic funds transfer instruction via the networkinterface 405, over the network 100 to the applicable payor financialinstitution station 130 a-130 c and/or an originating financialinstitution and or originating financial institution to the AutomatedClearing House (ACH) network or similar financial network for fundstransfer.

[0086] The processor 410 also generates, in accordance with the billpayment software instructions stored in memory area 420 c, a messageindicating the amount of payment remitted and the associated payoraccount number, along with an instruction to transmit the message, viathe network interface 405, over the network 100 to the appropriatebiller station 110 a-110 d. This remittance advice information may flowdirectly to the biller station 110 a-110 d or be routed with the paymentthrough the biller's financial institution 130 a-130 c, which woulddeliver the information to the biller station. It should be recognizedthat the biller station to which the payment notice is transmitted maybe different than the biller station from which the billing informationis transmitted.

[0087] If the payment will be made by hardcopy check, the CF processor410 generates an instruction to print a hardcopy check for theappropriate amount against funds in CF station 140's checking account.The applicable payor's checking account maintained at one of thefinancial institutions represented by stations 130 a-130 c is debitedappropriately via ACH (resulting in electronic funds transfer to the CFstation account) or via some form of “good funds” debiting through adirect electronic connection to the financial institution (resulting inelectronic or wire funds transfer to the CF station account). The checkmay be a “single check” remitting only a single payor's payment to aparticular biller, or a “check and list”, combining the remittance frommultiple payors to a particular biller. Alternatively, the CF processormay generate an instruction to print a hardcopy check, sometimesreferred to as a draft, for the appropriate amount against funds in theapplicable payor's checking account maintained at one of the financialinstitutions represented by stations 130 a-130 c.

[0088] The processor 410 also generates, in accordance with the billpayment software instructions stored in memory area 420 c, a messageindicating the amount of the payment(s) remitted and the associatedpayor account(s). The printed message, i.e. the remittance advice, andcheck are then mailed to the applicable biller remittance center. Itshould be recognized that the location to which the payment notice issent may be different than the location of the biller station from whichthe billing information is transmitted.

Distributed Functionality

[0089] Referring again to FIG. 2, rather than having all operationsperformed by the CF station 140, certain operations can be performeddirectly by other network stations and certain information can betransmitted directly between the payor stations 120 a-120 d, the billerstations 110 a-110 d and the financial institution stations 130 a-130 c.It may, in some instances, be preferred to have the CF station 140linked to the payor stations 120 a-120 d and biller stations 110 a-110 dvia the financial institution stations 130 a-130 c.

[0090] For example, it may be desirable in some cases for the billerstations 110 a-110 d to communicate some or all bill related informationvia the network 100 directly to the payor stations 120 a-120 d while thenotices of the availability are generated and transmitted by the CFstation 140 directly to the appropriate payor stations. This facilitatesbiller control over bill related information which could be storedexclusively on a memory device at the appropriate biller station. Inother cases, it may be advantageous for all payment instructions to betransmitted directly from the payor stations 120 a-120 d to anappropriate financial institution station 130 a-130 c. In such cases,there could be a preference to have the payment instruction processed bythe CF station 140 or at the financial institution station 130 a-130 c.In still other cases, it may be beneficial for all communications to betransmitted through the financial institution station 130 a-130 c butall processing to be performed by the CF station 140.

[0091] As indicated above, if desired, all or part of the billinginformation may be retained at the biller stations 110 a-110 d. Forexample, it may be desired that detailed bill presentment information beretained at the biller stations 110 a-110 d while summary billpresentment information be stored and provided by the CF station 140.Although billing information may be maintained by the biller stations110 a-110 d, the request for such information may be directed throughthe CF station 140 to the appropriate biller 110 a-110 d in order toprovide a third party audit trail or meet other desired objectives.

Notifications of Bill Availability

[0092] Referring again to FIGS. 2 and 2A, the CF processor 410, inaccordance with the bill presentment software stored in area 420 c ofthe memory 420, preferably tracks and stores information relating torequests or transmissions of bill presentation information to payorsafter the notice of availability. The CF processor 410 also preferablyreceives, stores and tracks a signal from the payor stations 120 a-120 drelating to when a notice of availability bills has been viewed by theapplicable payor. In this way, the processor 410, in accordance with thebill presentation software instructions, may transmit a reminder noticeof the availability of bills, for example, if no request to view thebills has been received for some period of time after the payor hasviewed the notice or if bills represented in previously requested billpresentment remain due and unpaid after some period of time. It may bedesirable to send reminder notifications one or more times at fixedintervals, e.g., weekly, after the initial viewing of the notice ofavailability or the initial request for bill presentment information. Areminder notice could alternatively or additionally be sent just priorto the bill due date as a final reminder to the payor before latepayment or interest charges will accrue.

Enrollment

[0093] Turning now to FIGS. 4-6, the payor enrollment process performedby the CF processor 410, in accordance with the bill presentment andbill payment software instructions stored in memory area 420 c, will bedescribed. Upon request by an existing or potential payor represented bya payor station 120 a-120 d, enrollment interface information iselectronically transmitted via the network 100 from the CF station 140to the applicable station 120 a-120 d. The information is provided so asto be capable of processing by the payor processor 450 and presented inone or more screens on a display 460 of the payor station 120. It willof course be recognized that, although the enrollment process isdescribed with reference to a payor station of the type shown in FIG.2B, the process could be easily implemented with other types of payorstations.

[0094] The initial enrollment screen 550, as shown in FIG. 4, includes alisting in block 560 of billers from whom bills can be receivedelectronically. An indicator 565 indicates those billers whose bills canbe received electronically and who can also be paid electronically aspreviously described. The payor using the input device 465 of the payorstation 120 can select any or all of the billers identified in thelisting in block 560 for electronic bill presentation and/or electronicpayment, if applicable. The account number for the payor's account witheach selected biller is inserted in block 562 using the payor inputdevice 465. The payor is also given the option, in block 570, ofidentifying other payees, including billers not included in the listingin block 560. Since all billers from whom electronic bills are availableare listed in block 560, block 570 is reserved for those billers, forexample, the paper boy, babysitter, lawn boy, etc., to whom the payordesires to make payments electronically through the CF station 140 basedupon hardcopy bills received directly from the biller. This informationwill typically be used to populate a consumer database, as will bedescribed further below with reference to FIG. 16.

[0095]FIG. 5 depicts further enrollment screen 1600 transmitted by theCF station 140 to the payor station 120 a-120 d during the enrollmentprocess. This screen is also presentable on the display 460 of the payorstation 120. This screen facilitates the gathering of payor data whichis necessary or desirable for the processing of bills. Using the inputdevice 465 of the payor station 120, the payor enters his/her firstname, middle initial, and last name in block 510 of the screen 1600. Thepayor is also requested to enter his/her social security number in block520 and mother's maiden name in block 525. The maiden name of thepayor's mother is requested for subsequent verification purposes. Thepayor's address is also requested to be entered in block 530. In blocks540, both home and office telephone numbers are requested.

[0096] It should be noted that although the payor's account numbers forthose billers selected from the listing in block 560 of FIG. 4 arerequested, in certain implementation it may be preferable to obtain theaccount numbers from the billers as part of the information to beforwarded to the CF station 140 by the applicable billers selected inblock 560 of FIG. 4. By eliminating the need for potential payors toprovide an account number, the enrollment process can be simplifiedsomewhat from the enrollee's prospective. However, it should be notedthat in most cases it will be beneficial to request that the payor enteran account number for each selected biller.

[0097] Turning now to FIG. 6, another screen 600, transmitted from theCF station 140 to the payor station 120 during the enrollment process,depicts an exemplary portion of a conventional personal check in block610. Within this block, the areas of the check having the routing andtransit number (RTN) and the account number are indicated. The RTN andaccount number for the applicable payor's checking account with theapplicable financial institution 130 a-130 c are entered in block 620.Additionally, in block 630, log on information is entered in the form ofa user name and password to complete the enrollment process.

[0098] All of the gathered payor information will typically be used topopulate a consumer database, as will be described further below withreference to FIG. 16.

[0099] Upon enrollment, the billers from whom electronic bills have beenrequested and the financial institutions from whom checking accountwithdrawals have been authorized are notified, supplied information isverified and additional information is requested.

CF Station Operations

[0100]FIG. 7 provides a simplified flow diagram which summarizesoperations of the CF station 140 during bill processing. It should benoted that the operations are described with the CF station 140 servinga centralized role within the bill processing network of FIGS. 1 and 2.Those skilled in the art will understand that the described operationscould be performed, as appropriate, by stations other than the CFstation 140 within the network shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, as has beenpreviously described above.

[0101] As indicated in step 705, the CF station 140 receives billinginformation from the biller stations 110 a-110 d via the network 100.The received billing information is normalized, summarized and stored insteps 710 and 715 at the CF station 140. In step 720, the payor isnotified of the availability of bills by message transmitted from the CFstation 140 to the payor station 120 a-120 d via network 100. In step725, the CF station 140 receives a request for bill presentationinformation from the applicable payor station 120 a-120 d. The billpresentment information is transmitted over the network 100 by the CFstation 140 to the applicable payor station 120 a-120 d in step 730,responsive to the request. The bill presentment information may includeonly a summary of bills or one or more detailed bills formed bytemplating the normalized data before transmission. If desired thetransmitted bill presentment information could include both summary anddetailed bills.

[0102] In step 740, the CF station 140 determines if bill paymentinstructions have been received for those bills represented by thepreviously transmitted bill presentation information. This determinationmay, for example, be made at some predefined period after the receipt ofa request for or transmission of the bill presentation information. Ifnot, the payor is again notified of the bill availability in step 720.

[0103] Optionally, the payor station 120 a-120 d may be configured totransmit a notice to the CF station 140, responsive to the viewing ofthe notice of availability by the applicable payor. In step 735, the CFstation 140 determines if a request to receive bill presentmentinformation has been received for those bills represented by thepreviously transmitted notice of availability. This determination may,for example, be made at some predefined period after the initial viewingof the notice of availability of bill presentation information. If not,the payor is again notified of the bill availability in step 720. If arequest has been received, the process continues at step 730.

[0104] As will be described in more detail below with reference to FIGS.16 to 21, if the determinations in step 740 is positive, in step 755,the CF station 140 determines if, in accordance with the paymentinstruction, the bill is to be paid by electronic funds transfer. Ifyes, CF station 140 transmits, via the network 100, an electronic fundstransfer instruction for the payor's deposit account at one of theapplicable financial institution represented by stations 130 a-130 c instep 760. The CF station 140 also transmits, via network 100, a noticeto the applicable biller station of the payment in step 765. If paymentis to be made by check or draft, the CF station 140 generates a hardcopycheck or draft with the appropriate account information and directs themailing of same to the biller in step 770.

User Interfaces

[0105] Referring now to FIGS. 8-15, the payor, at his/her ownprerogative, can access the bill presentment information at the CFstation 140 via the network 100 at any time. For example, this contactmay be initiated by using a payor station 120 a-120 d to contact the CFstation 140 at a Web site on the Internet.

[0106] Upon initiating contact with the CF station 140, the payor iswelcomed, as shown in FIG. 8, by a screen 800 transmitted by the CFstation 140 to the payor station 120 a-120 d for presentment on thepayor station display 460. The screen 800 includes notification of billsin block 810 and of messages in block 820 which have not been previouslytransmitted to the payor. In this particular instance, no new bills ormessages are indicated. If new bills and/or messages are available, thepayor can, using the payor station input device 465, click on indicator810 a to access the new bills and indicator 820 a to access the newmessages.

[0107] From screen 800, the payor can also access either billpresentment information related to previously transmitted billinginformation, including information relating to unpaid bills or paidbills, as well as information relating to previously accessed messagesby clicking on indicator 830 a to receive the unpaid bills, indicator840 a to access bill presentment information related to paid bills, andindicator 850 a to access other messages. The payor can also selectcategories as indicated in block 870 by clicking on indicator 870 a.Responsive to clicking on indicator 870 a, the CF station 140 willtransmit a screen which will be described below and allows the payor tocategorize billers in any desired manner.

[0108] The payor can also contact customer care by inserting a topic ofinterest in block 860 and clicking on the indicator 860 a.Alternatively, block 860 may offer a pulldown list of selectable topics,similar to block 560 in FIG. 4. In such a scenario, the payor wouldselect one of the topics prior to clicking on indicator 860 a. Byclicking on the indicator 860 a, a message is sent from the payorstation 120 a-120 d to the appropriate customer care station. Thecustomer care station may be the CF station 140 for all topics, or couldalternatively be the CF station 140 for certain topics, the appropriatefinancial institution station 130 a-130 c for other topics and/or theappropriate biller station 110 a-110 d for still other topics.

[0109] For example, if the inquiry topic relates to the accounting ofcertain funds transferred from the payor's checking account, thecustomer care request can be directed to the appropriate financialinstitution station 130 a-130 c. If the indicated topic relates to aparticular merchant billing, the customer care request can be directedto the appropriate merchant station 110 a-110 d. If the inquiry is of amore general nature, the customer care request can be directed to the CFstation 140.

[0110] The customer case messaging option shown in FIG. 8 and describedhere may be beneficially provided on some or all screens presented onthe payor station 120 a-120 d.

[0111] It will be understood by those skilled in the art that, if the CFstation 140 serves as a centralized gateway for all communications, allcustomer care requests could be directed to the CF station 140 and itmay be unnecessary for the payor to indicate a topic of interest inblock 860. Likewise, if all pertinent information is available at the CFstation 140, then all customer care inquiries could also be directed toand disposed of by customer care represented by the CF station 140,rather than being forwarded on to a financial institution station 130a-130 c or biller station 110 a-110 d for response.

[0112] Referring now to FIG. 9A, as noted above, if new bills areavailable, a summary of these bills can be accessed by clicking onindicator 810 a. Similarly, if new messages are available, thesemessages can be accessed by clicking on indicator 820 a. By clicking onindicator 810 a when new bills are indicated, a screen 900, as shown inFIG. 9A, is transmitted from the CF station 140, via the network 100, tothe payor station 120 a-120 d, processed by payor processor 450 andpresented on the payor display 460. The screen 900 includes billpresentment information 910 which summarizes the new bills which havebeen received since the payor last requested bill presentmentinformation related to unpaid bills. The summary information includesthe biller name, amount of the new bill and the due date for payment ofthe bill.

[0113] As indicated in FIG. 9A, the applicable biller logo may bedisplayed as part of the presentation. The payor is given the option ofclicking on a pay indicator 910 a, a mark indicator 910 b, or a deleteindicator 910 c, associated with each summarized billing. By clicking onthe pay indicator 910 a using the payor input device 465, a signal istransmitted to the CF station 140 to direct payment of a particularbilled amount on the due date. By clicking on indicator 910 c, thedisplayed bill presentation information relating to a particular billeris deleted. By clicking on indicator 910 b, the bill summary informationrelating to one or more particular bills is marked and by then clickingon indicator 915 the detailed bill presentment information relating tothese particular bills can be retrieved from the CF station 140.

[0114] The payor also has the option, using the payor input device 465,of clicking on block 920 to access a summary of all unpaid bills fromthe CF station 140. The unpaid bill summary will be substantially in theform of bill summary 910, but will include a summary listing of allunpaid bills rather than just listing new unpaid bills.

[0115]FIG. 9B depicts screen 930 which can be transmitted from the CFstation 140 to present summary bill related information at the payorstation 120 a-12 d in a categorized manner. As shown, by clicking onindicator 935, categories of billers are changed in block 940. Forexample, in screen 930 the category has been set to unpaid bills andaccordingly, a summary of all unpaid bills appears on the payor display460. Other categories could be, for example, utility bills, paid bills,questioned bills, credit card bills or any other category which may bedesirable under the particular circumstances.

[0116] In screen 930, one or more of the check blocks 945 can be clickedon along with the pay bill indicator 950 to direct a communication fromthe payor station 120 a-120 d to the CF station 140 instructingparticular bills which are summarized in screen 930 should be paid onthe due date. Indicator 955 allows the check blocks 945 to be reset inthe event that a block is inadvertently checked.

[0117]FIG. 9C depicts still another screen 960 which can be transmittedfrom the CF station 140 to the appropriate payor station 120 a-120 d forpresentation on the payor display 460. As shown, the listing contains acurrent bill summary with payee names 965, total bill amounts 970,minimum payment amounts due 975, payment due dates 980 and bill status985. Indicators 990 indicate that a pre-bill payment authorization hasbeen made with respect to particular bills. Such authorizations will bedescribed below. The status may, for example, be indicated as unpaid, asbeing processed if payment has been previously directed by the payor, oras on hold if the bill has been previously questioned by the payor.

[0118] As indicated in block 992, the payor can direct that all billssummarized in the bill summary of FIG. 9C be paid by clicking on theindicator 992 a. Clicking on indicator 992 a will result in the payorprocessor 450 directing a communication to the CF station 140 to pay allof the listed bills by the due date. Alternatively, as indicated inblock 994, the payor can click on the indicator 994 a to direct paymentof the minimum amount due on all listed bills be paid by the payment duedate. To the extent that the payment of bills have been preauthorized bythe payor, clicking on indicator 992 a or 994 a will not affect thepreauthorized payments.

[0119] Block 996 identifies the category of billers with respect to whombill related information is summarized in screen 960. An indicator arrow996 a can be clicked on to scroll through various categories of billersto change the information summarized on screen 960, as has beenpreviously described with reference to FIG. 9B. Additionally, dates canbe inserted in block 998 to limit or extend the amount of bill summaryinformation which is displayed. The arrow indicator 998 a can be used tochange the “TO” date.

[0120] By clicking on one or more indicators 965 a and the retrieveindicator 999, detailed bill presentment information relating toparticular bill summary items can be accessed from the CF station. Byclicking on one or more of the indicators 970 a and the pay indicator997, an instruction to pay the total billed amount associated withparticular bills will be communicated to the CF station 140. By clickingon one or more of the indicators 975 a and the pay indicator 997, aninstruction will issue to the CF station 140 to make payment of theminimum amount due on particular bills.

[0121] Turning now to FIG. 10A, a pre-bill payment authorization screen1000 is shown. The screen is transmitted from the CF station 140 to theappropriate payor station 120 a-120 d for presentation on the payorstation display 460. The pre-bill payment authorization screen 1000allows the payor to identify billers in column 1005 whose bills arepre-authorized by the payor for payment by the CF station 140. Moreparticularly, the payor can designate in column 1010 a fixed paymentamount, a maximum payment amount or an instruction to pay the totalamount due or mininum amount due for any named biller. Further, thepayor can specify, it so desired, in column 1015, a frequency at whichsuch payments are authorized.

[0122] As shown in FIG. 10A, the payor can also authorize payment of thetotal amount billed for all billers identified by an asterisk 415 inFIG. 4 by filling in a period of authorization in block 1020 andclicking on indicator 1020 a. Similarly, if the payor wishes topre-authorize payments of the minimum amount due on all bills, theperiod of authorization can be inserted in block 1025 and indicator 1025a can be clicked on. As indicated by block 1030, an indicator 1030 a canbe clicked on to direct that notification of and bill presentmentinformation associated with bills for which payment is pre-authorizednot be forwarded to the payor. The payor also has the option, asindicated by block 1035, of clicking on indicator 1035 a to receivenotices and presentations of bill presentment information associatedwith the bills which have been pre-authorized for payment by the CFstation 140.

[0123]FIG. 10B depicts an alternative screen 1050 which may be utilizedin setting up pre-bill payment authorization. Screen 1050 is transmittedfrom the CF station 140 to the applicable payor station 120 a-120 d.Billers identified in block 1060 and associated account numbersidentified in block 1065 can be changed by clicking on indicator 1055.Alternatively, the payor can enter a biller name in block 1060 and thepayor's account number with the particular biller payments will appearautomatically in block 1065. By clicking on indicator 1070, the payorcan direct the CF station 140 not to transmit notices and presentationsof bill presentment information relating to the particular billerindicated. By clicking designator 1075, the payor can direct the CFstation 140 to continue to transmit notices and bill presentmentinformation regarding unpaid bills of the identified biller. By clickingon indicator 1080 after entering an amount in block 1085, the payor canpre-authorize the CF station 140 to pay bills of the indicated biller upto the maximum amount indicated without further authorization.

[0124] As indicated above, the payor station 120 a-120 d can also accessthe detailed bill related information stored at the CF station 140. Asshown in FIG. 11, detailed bill presentment information, identified withreferenced numeral 1110, is transmitted as screen 1100 by the CF station140 responsive to a request for such information from the payor station120 a-120 d. By clicking on indicator 1120, the payor station 120 a-120d will issue an instruction directing the payment of the bill throughthe CF station 140. The bill can also be deleted from the screen byclicking on indicator 1125.

[0125] Responsive to clicking on indicator 1120 at payor station 120a-120 d, a screen 1200, as shown in FIG. 12a, is transmitted by the CFstation 140. The screen 1200 includes a check 1205 which can bepresented by the payor processsor 450 on the display 460 at the payorstation 120 a-120 d. The check 1205, as shown, resembles a conventionalhardcopy personal check. The name of the applicable biller automaticallyappears in the block 1210. An appropriate payment date automaticallyappears in block 1215. It should be noted that the indicated paymentdate may pre-date the payment due date included on the bill presentmentinformation of FIG. 11 to reflect when the payment must be made toensure timely arrival and avoidance of late charges. The lead time mayvary depending on the remittance method (hardcopy check or various formsof electronic funds transfer). The total bill amount is alsoautomatically indicated in block 1220.

[0126] The payor can modify the date and amount of the payment if sodesired. As an option, the payor can also indicate in block 1225 thatthe amount shown should be paid to the biller more than once, forexample, monthly or semi-annually. This feature will typically be mostuseful where a fixed payment amount is payable on a fixed periodic basisto the applicable biller. The payor then clicks on the pay billindicator 1230 to direct transmission of an instruction from the payorstation 120 a-120 d to the CF station to make payment to the designatedpayee, i.e., biller, in the designated amount on the designated date.

[0127]FIG. 12B depicts an alternative bill payment screen 1250. Screen1250 includes a check 1255 which is similar to check 1205 of FIG. 12A,but which can be used in connection with the payment of individual billsfrom a bill summary screen such as those previously described withreference to FIGS. 9A-9A. More particularly, responsive to the payindicator, in the bill summaries shown in FIGS. 9A-9C, being clicked onat the payor station 120 a-120 d, the CF station 140 transmits screen1250 to the payee station. The check 1255 includes block 1260 in whichan individual biller's name can be inserted by scrolling through billersnames appearing on the bill summary using the arrow indicator 1260 a.The bill due date or a date which allows time for hardcopy mailing of acheck to the biller automatically appears in the date block 1265 for thelisted bill of the selected biller.

[0128] In the screen 1250, the block 1270 must be filled in by the payorto indicate the desired payment amount. Block 1275 can be scrolled byclicking on the arrow indicator 1275 a to select the period of paymentas has been previously discussed with reference to block 1225 in FIG.12A. FIG. 12C further details screen 1250 to show that block 1275 can beexpanded to provide multiple options with respect to the payment periodfor selection by the payor.

[0129] Once the check 1255 has been appropriately filled out the payorcan then click on the pay bill indicator 1280 to transmit an instructionfrom the payor station 120 a-120 d directing the CF station 140 to paythe selected biller in accordance with information contained in thefilled check 1255. If, on the other hand, changes in the checkinformation are required, the payor can click on indicator 1285 to resetcheck 1255 and restart the process of selecting a biller for payment andfilling in the amount of the payment to be made.

[0130] Referring to FIG. 13, a screen 1300, having a payment list 1305including those bills which have been paid or on which instructions forpayment have been received, is generated by the CF station 140.Responsive to a request from the payor, the screen 1300 is transmittedvia the network 100 to the appropriate payor station 120 a-120 d. Thescreen 1300 is presentable on the payor display 460. The screen includesa listing of billers in column 1310 and a listing of the date on whichpayment has or will be made in column 1315. The amount of the authorizedpayment is listed in column 1320 along with the period at which suchpayment is authorized in column 1325. A payment confirmation number isreferenced in column 1330. This number can be used to identify theparticular transmission or payment of interest should the payor wish tomake any inquiries to customer care regarding the payment. In column1335, the status of the payment is indicated. For example, as indicated,the status may be that payment has been processed or may be pendingawaiting a due date of payment. In column 1340, the payor is providedwith various options depending upon the status of the payment. Forexample, where payment is pending, the payment authorization can bestopped or edited. In those cases where payment has been made, the payorcan make inquiries relating to those payments.

[0131]FIG. 14 depicts a screen 1400 which, responsive to a request froma payor, is transmitted by the CF processor 140 to the payor station 120a-120 d. Screen 1400 allows the payor to establish certain categories ofbillers, as has been previously discussed. For example, the biller may,in block 1405, establish categories for utilities, credit cardcompanies, school, tennis related activities and any other categories asmay be desired by an individual payor. By clicking on the resetindicator 1410, the payor can modify the listed categories. The selectedcategories and any changes to the category listings are saved byclicking on indicator 1415.

[0132]FIG. 15 depicts a particularly beneficial screen 1500 for billpresentment and payment. As shown, the CF processor 140 transmits forpresentation on the payor station display 460, a screen having an area1505, which includes biller-specific bill presentment information,including the biller name, biller address and payor account number withthe biller in block 1510. The area 1505 also includes a block 1515having the biller invoice number and invoice date to the extentapplicable. A block 1520 presents information which includes thepurchase dates, product/service descriptions and the associated billedamounts, along with the total amount due and minimum payment due. Ablock 1525 indicates the payment due date.

[0133] In section 1530 of screen 1500, a check 1535 is shown whichincludes information similar to that of check 1205 which is describedabove with reference to FIG. 12A, with the exception that the check 1535includes an invoice number in block 1540 and a click on indicator forapproving the payment in block 1545. As in FIG. 12A, the payment duedate and the total payment amount can be modified. An area 1550 of thescreen 1500, has indicators which can be clicked on to access otherinformation. As shown, indicator 1555 a can be clicked on to accessother terms and conditions as indicated in block 1555, and indicator1560 a can be clicked on to access advertisements which the billerwishes to include with the bill presentment as indicated in block 1560.

[0134] An indicator 1565 a can be clicked on to access customer care asindicated in block 1565. The customer care access can, if desired, besimilar to that described with reference to FIG. 8. Any customer careinquiry will automatically reference the particular account numberreferred to in area 1505 of the screen 1500, and may also reference theinvoice number referred to in area 1505. By clicking on indicator 1570a, the payor can determine if payment has already been made as indicatedby block 1570. If payment has been made, by clicking on indicator 1570 aa canceled check stamp will appear on the check 1535 to indicate thatthe check has been cashed.

[0135] Accordingly, utilizing the screen 1500, a payor can access allinformation on a single screen necessary to review detailed billpresentment information relating to any particular bill, make payment ofthat bill in a desired amount and access other information, such asterms and conditions and advertisements, which would normally beincluded in a hardcopy mailing of bill. The payor can also determinethat payment of the bill has in fact been received by the applicablebiller. Should the biller have questions regarding the bill or payment,by simply clicking on indicator 1565 a, customer care can be accessed.

Processing Payments to Billers and Other Payees

[0136] Payment processing will now be described in further detail withreference to FIGS. 16-21.

[0137]FIG. 16 illustrates the steps in the creation of a consumerdatabase for use with the present invention. The first step in theprocess is to establish a consumer's data records on the system. Thismay be accomplished by the consumer completing an authorization form1600, which may include some or all of the enrollment screens 500 and600 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, would contain the needed information toinput into the system concerning the consumer. As has been discussedabove with reference to FIG. 5, this information may include theconsumer's name, address, telephone number and other applicableinformation. The consumer would also provide a voided check from theconsumer's personal checking account, or the consumer's personalchecking account information via the enrollment screen 600 as previouslydescribed with reference to FIG. 6.

[0138] The consumer's information may then be manually input via akeyboard 1652, or otherwise automatically entered into the consumerdatabase record 1622, which forms part of the payor data 420 b describedabove with reference to FIG. 2A. Default amounts may be set for anindividual credit line parameter and for a total month-to-dateparameter. These amounts establish the maximum unqualified credit riskexposure the service provider is willing to accept for an individualtransaction and for the collective month-to-date transactions of aconsumer. As explained hereinafter, the service provider may be at riskwhen paying a consumer's bills by a check written on the serviceprovider's account.

[0139] From the voided check or entered checking account information,the consumer's bank routing transit and individual account numbers at aninstitution are input into the computer system. This information may beedited against an internal financial institutions file (FIF) database1624 of the present invention. It will be recognized that the FIFdatabase 1624 may also be stored at the memory 420 shown in FIG. 2A orcould be stored at another location accessible to the CF processor 410.FIF 1624 is a database of financial institutions' identification codesand account information for the consumer. This file is used to edit[s]the accuracy of the routing transit number and the bank account number.If the numbers do not correspond with the correct routing and banknumbers, they are rejected in 1623 and the data entry is done again. FIF1624 in conjunction with the software stored in area 420 c of the memory420 shown in FIG. 2A of the present invention also allows the CFprocessor 410 to update[s] the consumer database 1622 for bothelectronic and paper draft routing and account information. The neededinformation may be obtained from each banking institution and eachconsumer.

[0140] As appropriate, the consumer is notified by the service providerof his or her local phone number access and personal security code forinforming the service provider that a bill is to be paid. Thisinformation may be stored in a phone access table 1626. Of course, nolocal access phone number is required if the Internet will be used toinform the service provide that a bill is to be paid. The personalsecurity code may be much like an ATM machine four digit code.

[0141] In addition, to the extent necessary or as otherwise desired tocomply with federal law, an electronic pre-note 1628 will be created tobe sent to the consumer's bank to inform the bank that the serviceprovider is authorized to debit the consumer's account. For furthersecurity to the service provider, a consumer credit record 1630 may beobtained. The default credit limit amounts over which the serviceprovider may be unwilling to assume financial risk may be modified basedon the information obtained from the credit report 1630.

[0142] In FIG. 17 the steps are shown for establishing merchants to bepaid and the making of a payment. The consumer must inform the serviceprovider or processor of a merchant's name, address, phone number andthe consumer's account number with the merchant 1732. As described abovewith reference to FIG. 4, this can be done using enrollment form 550,which avoids the need for the consumer to enter all of the necessaryinformation for billers named in the listing in block 560. The term“merchant” as used herein is intended to pertain to any person or entitythat the consumer wishes to pay and is not to be limited to the usualmerchants most consumers pay, such as the electric company, a homemortgage lender, etc. Thus, the term “merchant” should be understood toinclude the billers describe above, as well as any other payee. Thisinformation is put into a merchant master file database 1842 (MMF), tothe extent it is not already included in the MMF 1842. The MMF 1842 andthe addition of merchants to the MMF 1842 will be further described withreference to FIGS. 18 and 19. The MMF 1842 is stored as payee data inarea 420 a of the memory 420 shown in FIG. 2A.

[0143] The consumer may also indicate whether the merchant is a variableor fixed merchant. A variable merchant is one in which the date andamount of payment will vary each month. A fixed merchant is one in whichthe date and amount remain the same each month. If the merchant isfixed, the frequency of payment may be other than monthly, such asweekly, quarterly, etc. The consumer should inform the service-providerof the date on which the merchant is to be paid and the amount to bepaid.

[0144] Through a telecommunications terminal 1734 (e.g., a push-buttontelephone such as telephone 430 or mobile phone 340 of FIG. 3, orcomputer terminal such as the PC 310 or notebook computer 350 of FIG. 3,which serves as the payor station 120 described in FIG. 2B), a consumermay initiate payment of bills. Through the terminal, the consumer mayaccess his merchant list and input the payment date and amount. Thesystem may be provided with a payment date editor 1736 to insure thatthe date is valid and logical (i.e., payment dates already in the pastor possibly a year or more into the future would be questioned). Theconsumer interfaces with the service provider via a front end processor1740 communicating through a network. The front end processor 1740 may,for example, form part of the CF process 410 of CF station 140 shown inFIG. 2A.

[0145] As payments are initiated, a consumer “checkbook register” may becreated and automatically updated to reflect this activity. The merchantlist can be visible on the consumer's personal computer screen, e.g.display 460 of the payor station 120 shown in FIG. 2B. On a personalcomputer a consumer may enter merchant payment amounts and paymentdates, e.g. using input device 465 of the payor station 120 shown inFIG. 2B, on the computer screen, e.g. display 460 of the payor station120 shown in FIG. 2B, and then transmit this information to the serviceprovider, e.g. using the network interface 455 of the payor station 120shown in FIG. 2B.

[0146] By telephone, the list may be presented by programmed voice. Thevoice may be programmed to ask the consumer if a particular merchant(selected from the consumer's MMF, which may be updated from time totime) is to be paid and to tell the consumer to press 1 if yes, or press2 if no. If yes, the voice may instruct the consumer to enter the amountto be paid by pressing the numbers on a touch tone phone. The asteriskbutton could be used as a decimal point. After the amount is entered,the voice, may ask the consumer to enter the date on which payment is tobe made to the merchant. This may be accomplished by assigning eachmonth a number, such as January being month 01. The consumer may thenenter month, day and year for payment. The programmed voice may beaccomplished with a VRU (voice response unit) available from AT&T orother vendors. It may communicate with a data processor to obtainconsumer information. At the end of the consumer's session on theterminal a confirmation number may be sent to the consumer, in step1632, providing a record of the transaction.

[0147] In FIG. 18 the steps are shown for the creation of the consumerpay table 1838 and making updates to it. The consumer's files of paymentrelated requests may be received at the service provider on a front endprocessor 1740 that interfaces with the telecommunications network, e.g.the network 100 of FIGS. 1 and 2. The consumer's records may be edited1844 for validity by comparing to the merchants' account scheme. Any newmerchant records, from step 1732 of FIG. 17, are added to the consumer'spay table 1838. New merchants are compared to the MMF 1842 andappropriately cross-referenced to the pay table 1838 to check if amerchant record already exists in the MMF 1842. If no merchant recordexists, a merchant record will be created on the MMF 1842.

[0148] Payment records may also be received on the service provider'sprocessor. The payment may first go through a validation process againstthe pay table 1838. The validation process checks for duplicate paymentsand if duplicates are found they are sent to a reject file 1839. Thevalidation process also verifies that merchants are set up and may checkfor multiple payments to be paid to a particular merchant. Orders forpayment go to the consumer pay table 1838 to determine when the paymentshould be released and how it will be released for payment. The consumerpay table 1838 can be stored as payor data in area 420 b of memory 420within CF station 140 shown in FIG. 2A.

[0149] The service provider may pay merchants by a draft or check(paper) or by electronic funds transfer. To create a draft that willpass through the banking system, it must be specially inked. This may beaccomplished by a printer which puts a micr code on drafts, likestandard personal checks.

[0150] For example, as shown in FIG. 20, the front end processor 1740may be a DEC VAX which is connected to an IBM main frame 46 Model 4381.Consumers may call by telephone 2035, a number that passes through theprivate bank exchange (PBX) 2039 and contacts a voice response unit 2041in association with the front end processor 1740. The telephone 2035could, for example, be a hard wired phone such as telephone 430 of FIG.3 or a wireless phone such as mobile phone 340 of FIG. 3. The privatebank exchange (PBX) 2039 could be part of the network 100 shown in FIGS.1 and 2.

[0151] After the consumer's payment instructions are received ananalysis is performed to determine the most cost effective and leastrisk mode of payment for the service provider to use. One preferred modeof payment is electronic funds transfer through the Federal ReserveAutomated Clearing House (ACH) Network 2047, which could be part of thenetwork 100 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. If the service provider is not abank, a bank intermediary may be needed to be connected to the FederalReserve Network. Another payment mode is a charge to the consumer'scredit card through the RPS Network 2049, which could also be part ofthe network 100 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Additionally, an IBM LaserPrinter attached to a micr post printer 2048 may be used by the serviceprovider to send drafts 2076 or consolidated checks 2078 to merchants.

[0152] The main frame 2046, the functionality of which can be includedin the CF processor 410 of CF station 140 shown in FIG. 2A, has datastorage means 2050, which may form part of the memory 420 of CF station140 shown in FIG. 2A, and runs the FIF 1624 and MMF 1842 programs, whichmay be stored in the area 420 c of the memory 420 in CF station 140shown in FIG. 2A. It may also have a tape drive or telecommunicationinterface, such as interface 405 of the CF station 140 shown in FIG. 2A,for accomplishing electronic funds transfer. It should be recognizedthat various other hardware arrangements could be used to accomplish thepresent invention.

[0153]FIG. 21 illustrates a similar arrangement for use when theconsumer is using a personal computer 2137, which is shown to be eithera MS/DOS or Macintosh PC, to instruct the service provider. The personalcomputer may access the front end processor 1740 through the standardX.25 Network 2143, which could be part of the network 100 shown in FIGS.1 and 2.

[0154] Referring now to FIGS. 19A, 19B and 19C, the payment process isshown. This process may be performed by the CF station 140 in accordancewith the bill payment software stored in area 420 c of the memory 420 asshown in FIG. 2A. The payment process may be cycled 1956 each day ormore or less frequently. The first step is to establish when paymentitems are to be processed. This may be accomplished through a processingcalendar 1958. A processing calendar 1958 may be built into the system,e.g. stored in the area 420 c of the memory 420 in the CF station 140shown in FIG. 2A. The calendar 1958 enables the system to consider eachdate, including weekends and the Federal Reserve holidays. Payments arereleased from the consumer pay table 1838 using the due date. Any bankdate, payments, or payments within a period such as four business daysmay be released the same day. All future payment dates would be storedin the consumer pay table 1838. On-line inquiry may be made on theconsumer pay table 1838. The service provider has on-line capability tomake changes to the consumer payment upon request until the day thepayment is released. A consumer's merchant change may also affect theconsumer's payment on the pay table 1838.

[0155] The method of payment to the merchant may be either paper (draftor check) or electronic. There are several factors in the process usedto determine if a payment will be released as a paper item, or an ACHelectronic transaction (automated clearing house; service provider is aparty to transaction).

[0156] Each consumer may be assigned a status such as: active=good;inactive=bad; and, pending=uncertain, risky. If a consumer's status ispending 1960, when reviewing the payment file with the processingcalendar 1958, the payment should go out as a draft paper 2076, as shownin FIG. 19C, to protect the service provider. When payment is made bydraft, the service provider is not a contractual party to thetransaction. The consumer's bank account codes are actually encoded ontothe draft prepared by the service provider and act much like theconsumer's personal check. The draft has been specially designed forthis process. The draft is payable to either the service provider or theparticular merchant. This allows the draft to be delivered to themerchant for payment and depositing, but allows the draft to be legallypayable by the bank, with proper authorization. Additionally, postinginformation for the merchant is contained on the body of the draft. Tothe applicant's knowledge, it is the first time a draft has been used insuch a manner and with this unique design to accomplish this.

[0157] If the consumer's bank transit number does not indicate anelectronic bank 1962 (i.e., a banking institution that will acceptelectronic funds transfer), the program associated with FIF 1624, whichmay be stored in the area 420 c of the memory 420 in the CF station 140shown in FIG. 2A, sends the payment as a draft. A pre-note 1628 isrequired anytime, step 1964 determines, new banking information isentered on a consumer and the bank shows on FIF 1624 as an electronicreceiving bank. The pre-note period is ten (10) days under federal law.Any payments released during this period are sent as paper.

[0158] The third manner in which the service provider may pay bills isby a check written on the service provider's account 2078. Aconsolidated check may be written if many customers have asked theservice provider to pay the same merchant. Under this method of paymentthe service provider assumes some risk since the service provider writesthe check on its own account. The service provider is later reimbursedby the (consumer's) banking institution.

[0159] As a means of minimizing risk to the service provider, anytransaction may be compared to the MMF 1842 credit limit. For example,if the check limit is greater than zero and the payment is $50.00 orless in step 1966, the item may be released as electronic 1974 or byservice provider check 2078. If the payment is greater than $50.00 butless than or equal to the merchant credit limit, as determined in step1968, the payment may be released as an electronic payment 1974 or check2078. Any payments within the merchant's credit limit, as determined instep 1968, are added to the consumer's monthly ACH balance in step 1972.This provides a monthly total billing day to billing day summary of theconsumer's electronic payment activity. Any transaction may be comparedto the consumer's database 1622 credit limit parameters. If a paymentamount is greater than the consumer's credit limit, as determined instep 1970, the item is released as a draft 2076 which is written on theconsumer's account. If the payment amount plus the total of electronicpayments in a particular month is greater than the consumer's creditlimit in step 1971, the item is released as a draft 2076. Items notreleased as paper are initiated as an ACH debit against the consumer'saccount in step 1974.

[0160] The consumer database 1622 may be reviewed for proper electronicfunds transfer (EFT) routing. Payment to the merchant may beaccomplished one of three ways, depending on the merchant's settlementcode. Various merchant's settlement codes may be established. Forexample, a merchant set up with a settlement code “01” results in acheck and remittance list 2078 being mailed to the merchant. Merchantswith a settlement code, such as “10” produce an ACH customer initiatedentry (CIE). Merchants with a settlement code, such as, “13” produce aremittance processing system (RPS) credit.

[0161] In the consumer pay table 1838, for fixed payments, a paymentdate gets rolled to the next scheduled payment date on the pay table.The number of remaining payments counter is decreased by one for eachfixed payment made. For variable payments once made, the payment date isdeleted on the consumer pay table 1838. The schedule date and amount onthe consumer pay table roll to zero. A consumer payment history may alsobe provided which show items such as process date as well as collectiondate, settlement method, and check number in addition to merchant nameand amount.

[0162] The software of the present invention is designed in part to makeseveral decisions relating to particular transactions for consumers. Thefollowing example is provided to more fully describe the software. Thisexample is not intended to limit the application to the detailsdescribed in the example and is only provided to further enhance thedescription of the invention already stated above.

[0163] For this example, assume that a consumer has five transactions ofvarying amounts for which the consumer has asked the service provider toarrange payment. For simplicity, assume that the five payments are to bemade on the same day. First, the consumer database 1622 is edited tovalidate the status, banking institution, and pre-note flags associatedwith the consumer's requested payments, in steps 1960, 1962 and 1964.The account numbers provided by the consumer for the merchants to bepaid, are also checked to determine if they are valid in step 1965.Assuming the merchant account numbers are valid, the program begins withthe first dollar analysis.

[0164] For purposes of this example, the five payments the consumer hasrequested are in the amounts of: $25.00; $75.00; $150.00; $250.00; and$1,000.00. The program will consider each dollar amount individually asit goes through the various edit modes. The first edit may be called a$50.01 edit in step 1966. In this example, any transaction that is lessthan $50.01 is automatically sent as an ACH debit, in step 1972, to theconsumer's account. This means that the service provider uses ACH toelectronically transfer funds from the consumer's account to the serviceprovider's clearing account.

[0165] In this example, the initial payment of $25.00 will satisfy the$50.01 edit and therefore will be paid without any further edits beingconducted for this particular payment. Continuing with the example, thenext edit may be a merchant dollar edit in step 1968 that is establishedfor the specific merchant to which the transaction is being sent. Forpurposes of this example, this edit is set at $100.00 for all merchants.Different dollar edits can be incorporated for different merchants. Inthe example, the second payment request of the consumer, for $75.00,meets the $100.00 merchant edit parameter and is sent as an ACH debit tothe consumer's account. Note that the $75.00 payment would not havesatisfied the $50.01 edit and therefore would have passed on to thesecond edit which in this case, is the merchant dollar edit.

[0166] The remaining three payments in the example exceed both the$50.01 edit and the merchant $100.00 edit and therefore, go to the nextedit. In the example, the next edit is for a consumer individualtransaction limit set at $200.00 in step 1970. The $150.00 payment isless than the $200.00 consumer individual transaction limit and is,therefore, sent as an ACH debit to the consumer's account and paid. Theother two remaining payments yet to be made exceed the $200.00 limit inthis example and pass to the next edit.

[0167] In the next edit, which happens to be the last edit in theexample, the consumer's month-to-date “unqualified” risk limit ischecked. In the example, the month-to-date limit is set at $1,500.Assume that for this particular consumer $400.00 of month-to-datepayments have already been made on the consumer's behalf. Added to the$400.00 would be the three payments made above for $25.00, $75.00 and$150.00. So an additional $250.00 is added to the $400.00 month-to-datefor a total of $650.00 “unqualified” risk for the current month-to-dateamount in step 1971. The next payment to be made is for $250.00 andwould fall within the $1,500 month-to-date limit when added to thecurrent $650.00 risk amount. Therefore, the $250.00 payment is made andan ACH debit is sent to the consumer's account. This brings the totalmonth-to-date “unqualified” risk amount to $900.00. The final $1,000payment has not been paid and would send the “unqualified” risk amountover $1,500 when added to the $900.00. Since the final payment of $1,000in the example fails the consumer month-to-date limit edit, the $1,000payment would be sent as a paper draft directly drawn on the consumer'saccount, and for which the service provider has no liability. In theexample, the final step would be updating the consumer month-to-datecurrent total to $900.00.

[0168] It will also be recognized by those skilled in the art that,while the invention has been described above in terms of one or morepreferred embodiments, it is not limited thereto. Various features andaspects of the above described invention may be used individually orjointly. Further, although the invention has been described in thecontext of its implementation in a particular environment and forparticular purposes, those skilled in the art will recognize that itsusefulness is not limited thereto and that the present invention can bebeneficially utilized in any number of environments and implementations.Accordingly, the claims set forth below should be construed in view ofthe full breadth and spirit of the invention as disclosed herein.

I/We claim:
 1. A method of activating billers for a subscriber forelectronic presentment of bills and for electronic payments, comprising:receiving (i) first biller information identifying a first of aplurality of billers, (ii) second biller information identifying asecond of the plurality of billers, and (iii) subscriber informationassociated with the subscriber; transmitting, to the first billeridentified in the received first biller information, a request forverification of validity of the received subscriber information;receiving, from the first biller, the verification of the validity ofthe first subscriber information responsive to the transmittedverification request; and activating (i) electronic presentment of billsof the first biller, based on the received verification of validity, and(ii) only electronic payment of bills of the second biller withoutverification of validity of the received subscriber information by thesecond biller, for the subscriber.
 2. A method according to claim 1,further comprising: receiving payment information which a financialinstitution associates with a payment account of the subscriber; whereinelectronic payment of bills of the second biller is activated for thesubscriber based also on the received payment information.
 3. A methodaccording to claim 2, wherein: the subscriber information and thepayment information are received concurrently.
 4. A method according toclaim 1, wherein: the subscriber information includes a first billeraccount number which the first biller associates with the subscriber,and a second biller account number which the second biller associateswith the subscriber; and the request for verification of validity of thereceived subscriber information includes a request to verify thevalidity of the first biller account number and not the second billeraccount number.
 5. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:transmitting, to the subscriber, a list identifying multiple of theplurality of billers; wherein the first biller is a first of themultiple billers, and the second biller is not one of the multiplebillers; wherein the received first biller information is indicative ofa selection of the first biller from the identified multiple billers inthe transmitted list by the subscriber, and the received second billerinformation is typed information entered by the subscriber.
 6. A methodaccording to claim 1, further comprising: receiving, from thesubscriber, payment information that a financial institution associateswith a payment account of the subscriber; activating electronic paymentof bills of the first biller for the subscriber, based on the receivedpayment information; wherein electronic payment of bills of the secondbiller is activated for the subscriber based also on the receivedpayment information.
 7. A method according to claim 1, furthercomprising: receiving, from the subscriber, a request to be activatedfor electronic presentment of bills; and transmitting, to thesubscriber, a list identifying multiple of the plurality of billershaving bills available for electronic presentment in response to therequest; wherein the first biller is a first of the identified multiplebillers in the transmitted list; wherein the received first billerinformation is indicative of a selection by the subscriber of the firstbiller from the identified multiple billers in the transmitted list. 8.A method according to claim 7, wherein the activation request is a firstactivation request and the list identifying multiple of the plurality ofbillers is a first list, and further comprising: receiving, from thesubscriber, a second request to be activated for electronic payment ofbills; transmitting, to the subscriber, a second list identifyingmultiple of the plurality of billers, including the first biller and thesecond biller, some of which have and some of which do not have billsavailable for electronic presentment, in response to the secondactivation request; and wherein the received second biller informationis indicative of a selection of the second biller by the subscriber fromthe identified multiple billers in the transmitted second list.
 9. Asystem for activating billers for a subscriber for electronicpresentment of bills and for electronic payments, comprising: aprocessor configured to receive (i) first biller information identifyinga first of a plurality of billers, (ii) second biller informationidentifying a second of the plurality of billers, and (iii) subscriberinformation associated with the subscriber; and a memory configured tostore the received first and the received second biller information andthe received subscriber information; wherein the processor is furtherconfigured (i) to direct, to the first biller identified in the receivedfirst biller information, a request for verification of validity of thereceived subscriber information, (ii) to receive, from the first biller,the requested verification of validity of the received subscriberinformation responsive to the directed verification request, and (iii)to activate, for the subscriber, electronic presentment of bills of thefirst biller based on the received verification of validity, and onlyelectronic payment of the second biller identified in the receivedsecond biller informaiton without a verification of validity of thereceived subscriber information from the second biller.
 10. A systemaccording to claim 9, wherein: the processor is further configured (i)to receive payment information that a financial institution associateswith a payment account of the subscriber and (ii) to activate only theelectronic payment of bills of the second biller for the subscriber,based also on the received payment information; and the memory isfurther configured to store the received payment information.
 11. Asystem according to claim 10, wherein: the processor is furtherconfigured to receive the subscriber information and the paymentinformation concurrently.
 12. A system according to claim 9, wherein:the subscriber information includes a first biller account number whichthe first biller associates with the subscriber, and a second billeraccount number which the second biller associates with the subscriber;and the processor directs the request for the verification of validityof the received subscriber information including the first billeraccount number and not the second biller account number.
 13. A systemaccording to claim 9, wherein: the processor is further configured (i)to receive, from the subscriber, payment information that a financialinstitution associates with a payment account of the subscriber, and(ii) to activate, for the subscriber, the electronic payment of bills ofthe first biller and the second biller, based on the received paymentinformation.
 14. A system according to claim 9, wherein: the memory isfurther configured to store a list identifying multiple of the pluralityof billers having bills available for electronic presentment; the firstbiller is a first of the identified multiple billers, and the secondbiller is not one of the identified multiple billers; the processor isfurther configured to direct the list to the subscriber; and thereceived first biller information is indicative of a selection of thefirst biller from the identified multiple billers in the directed list,and the received second biller information is indicative of typedinformation entered by the subscriber.
 15. A system according to claim14, wherein: the processor is further configured to receive, from thesubscriber, a request to be activated for electronic presentment ofbills; and the stored list is directed to the subscriber in response tothe activation request.
 16. A system according to claim 9, wherein: thememory is further configured to store (i) a first list identifyingmultiple of the plurality of billers, including the first biller and notthe second biller, having bills available for electronic presentment,and (ii) a second list of multiple of the plurality of billers,including the first biller and the second biller; the processor isfurther configured to (i) receive, from the subscriber, a first requestto be activated for electronic presentment of bills, and to direct thestored first list to the subscriber responsive the received firstactivation request, and (ii) receive, from the subscriber, a secondrequest to be activated for electronic payment of bills, and to directthe stored second list to the subscriber responsive to the secondactivation request; the received first biller information is indicativeof a selection of the first biller from the identified multiple billersin the directed first list; and the received second biller informationis indicative of a selection of the second biller from the identifiedmultiple billers in the directed second list.